Did you know that - as of this blog post - LinkedIn has over 277 million users and 2.1 million groups? As a result, if you're not staying active and up-to-date with your LinkedIn profile, you're missing out on a lot. If you want to properly manage your professional life, you need to regularly grow your LinkedIn profile, and keep it current with your training and achievements.

Here are some suggestions for climbing the rungs of the corporate ladder using LinkedIn.

Make sure your Profile is complete. This means everything from a resume-appropriate photograph (leave those party pictures off the web completely!) and a headline that includes appropriate keywords, to brief and clear context statements for every position you’ve already held. You also need to belong to a handful of appropriate professionally-oriented LinkedIn Groups and get yourself a couple of recommendations.

Work on your Network. You need to have at least 250 connections in order for search algorithms to work best. This means taking the time to send out connection requests to current and former colleagues and those you’ve met at conferences, trade shows and other professional events. Take the time to endorse others, because this will increase the endorsements you receive in return. Increase your Group membership to 12-15.

Expand your Reach. To attract appropriate opportunities for a potential future job move, you now need to deepen all the work you did in #2. Double your connections to 500+, join another 25 Groups, and make sure you’re contributing valuable and relevant content to the group discussions. Post regular status updates.

Strategize your connections. Now it's time to focus your connections activity on the specific company or niche in your industry. To do this, make sure you’re starting conversations in the most fitting Groups, follow appropriate companies and recruiters, and connect with those who are influencers in that niche.

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